From Richard Vianello, Director, Civil Service Pensions
12 November 2026
As I outlined in my last note, we agreed a new approach with Capita to share information on all cases, and to put in place a plan that addresses all aspects of poor performance and technology gaps. That plan is underpinned by fundamentally different processes, whereby Capita is now tackling the root cause of complex cases, starting with the oldest cases first.
We agreed a new Management Information (MI) baseline as of 5 October, with the new ways of working starting from mid-October, and I am pleased to report that Capita is making progress.
In particular, telephony performance has improved, with 99.8% of all calls answered last week, of which 79.9% were answered within 30 seconds. Capita productivity is at its highest level, and they are clearing more new business as usual (BAU) standard cases than they receive.
I committed to sharing the MI every fortnight. In the latest dashboard you will note that overall cases have increased, from 150k to 156k. You will also see that overall intake is higher than clearances. However, the numbers hide a significant level of progress that has been made over the last fortnight, to move complex cases further towards a resolution. For example, the root cause may be fixed, but that now requires data from employers or the member. The case is therefore not closed, despite a significant amount of work and progress made on that case. As the information is returned, Capita will be able to issue quotes and/or make payment. We will therefore see an increase in case closures over the coming weeks.
Workstream 1 – Complex cases
There are now 32,600 complex cases, an increase of 2,100 since 5 October. As mentioned above, this does not reflect all the effort that has gone in, and the progress made on the oldest cases. A dedicated team within Capita is working meticulously through each case, gathering the necessary information and collating any missing elements in order to process it.
An increasing number of quotes for complex cases that are less than 3 months old have been issued – as I said last time, where the root cause of an old case is fixed, Capita will apply that fix to all similar cases so that is making a difference here.
Totals may not sum exactly due to rounding
Letters started being issued at the end of October to inform members that their case is in the Complex workstream, and that a dedicated support team would be taking ownership of overall management. A complex case phone line has also been set up, which requires a member-specific PIN. This PIN will be included in the letter, so please keep the details safe for future reference.
The first batch of letters has been issued, with further letters to be sent over the next two weeks.
If you work for a secure employer, Capita will take a slightly different approach, and will work with your employer to ensure you receive appropriate information and support. Letters for this cohort will be issued towards the end of November.
Workstream 2 – Normal process cases
For non-complex cases, including retirement quotes, these continue to be processed roughly in line with intake (last week clearances were higher than intake, the week before slightly lower). No cases from this workstream have moved to the complex workstream.
Around two thirds of all BAU cases are 30 days or younger – so service levels are significantly improved for non-complex cases.
Totals may not sum exactly due to rounding
Workstream 3 – All other cases
For workstream 3, total cases have risen from 106,000 to 111,300. As part of this workstream, Capita has begun a case consolidation exercise and started linking member cases together. For example, if a person called four times to chase a payment, Capita would previously have raised a payment case each time, resulting in one member with four payment cases. Cases related to the same query are being linked together and the one primary case is now being worked on by Capita. If you have an online account, this will be why you may have received a notification via ‘track my case’ that a case was closed or completed. Affected members should be assured that their primary case is being worked on by Capita, and that this case is the one that counts from an “oldest first” perspective – this change will not affect how quickly your case is acted on.
Totals may not sum exactly due to rounding
Call centre times
For a long time, a significant volume of calls to Capita were from members in the complex workstream. Now that those cases are being managed via a dedicated helpline, call centre performance has improved to 99.8%. The percentage of calls answered within 30 seconds has increased from 67.5% to 79.9%.
Annual Benefit Statements
528,729 out of 577,458 Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) have been uploaded to the Member Portal or posted. A further 3,027 were uploaded to the Member Portal earlier this week and Capita is aiming to upload another 38,000 by 20 November. The remaining c9,000 need further work, and will be uploaded to the Member Portal or sent via Royal Mail over the next few weeks.
842 members who have a pension sharing order to be implemented within the remedy period (between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022) will not receive an ABS. Capita will write to these members before the end of 2026 to explain the situation.
Retirement Modeller
The Modeller is in the latter stages of testing and is being shared with employers over the next few days at a number of employer sessions (the first was in Edinburgh this week). Capita will then pilot it with a small employer as a final assurance check. Once through that final testing, we will update employers and members regarding rollout timelines.
We are seeing progress on older cases; the majority of new BAU cases are being actioned on time; telephony is vastly improved; and productivity is up. But I also know that there are still many of you who are not receiving the service you deserve.
We will continue to challenge Capita to address those concerns, and support the delivery team in any way we can to restore the service.
Richard Vianello
Director, Civil Service Pensions
CSPA View
CSPA welcomes the continued publication of more detailed Management Information and the efforts to address the ongoing issues affecting the Civil Service Pension Scheme. The reported improvements in call handling, productivity and the focus on resolving the longest-standing complex cases are positive, and members will hope these measures lead to tangible improvements in service delivery.
However, the continued increase in the overall number of outstanding cases, including complex cases, underlines the scale of the challenge that remains. While the update reports encouraging signs of operational improvement, the experience being reported through CSPA members’ casework does not yet consistently reflect that progress. The contrast between improving performance metrics and the continuing difficulties faced by many members demonstrates just how complex the underlying issues are. Many members are still experiencing significant delays in receiving retirement quotes, pension payments and case resolutions, and there remains a considerable way to go before service levels are fully restored and confidence in the administration of the Scheme can be rebuilt.
CSPA will continue to monitor progress closely and press both the Cabinet Office and Capita to ensure that all members receive the accurate, timely and reliable service they deserve.
